Controlled Drugs PolicyA Controlled Drugs Policy written for your service
- Written for your organisation, not a template with your logo on it
- Read and approved by a person before it carries your name
- Verified against all 35 required elements of the legislation below
- Kept updated when the law changes, so it never quietly goes stale
No subscription needed. First year of updates included, £12 a year after that.
One-off, first year of updates included. Delivered within 2 working days of your details.
Trusted by UK care providers
Let's build your Controlled Drugs Policy
Answer 8 quick questions, about three minutes, and we'll write this policy for your service, in your name, with your people. You can skip anything and add it later.
Asked once, reused for every policy you buy
That's everything we need
0 of 8 answered. You can add the rest at any point before we write it.
- Registered company name
- Trading name (if different)
- Service address
- CQC provider ID
- CQC location ID
- Registered manager
- Nominated individual
- Medicines lead
Your answers are saved on this device and carried into your order.
Built from the law, checked against the law
The legislation, CQC standards and guidance we analyse to write it.
Your Controlled Drugs Policy is structured from these regulations, then verified against every required element of each one before a person signs it off. If the law changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
- Distinguishes whether the facility operates as a nursing home (where controlled drugs belong to the home and full regulatory regime applies) or residential home (where controlled drugs belong to individual residents) and state the corresponding legal obligations for storage, registers, and disposal
- Prohibits the supply or transfer of controlled drugs between residents under any circumstances, including emergency situations, identifying this as a criminal offence under section 4 of the Misuse of Drugs Act
- Establishes procedures for anticipatory prescribing, pharmacy relationships, and stock management to prevent situations where prescribed controlled drugs are unavailable when needed
- Specifies that controlled drug registers are maintained as bound books with entries in ink made on the same day or next day, with corrections made only by signed and dated marginal notes (never overwritten, tippexed, or with pages removed)
- Defines that two-signature checks (where implemented as good practice) require the second signatory to have actually witnessed the administration, not merely co-sign, and clarify this creates an evidential record
- Treats any discrepancy in controlled drug running balance as a potential error, theft, or diversion requiring investigation and documented determination of cause, not dismissal as a counting mistake
NICE guideline SC1: Managing medicines in care homes
- Defines the process for medicines reconciliation when a resident is admitted or returns from hospital, including how to resolve discrepancies between discharge letters and physical medicines before first dose is administered
- Requires a written protocol for each 'when required' (PRN) medicine for each resident, specifying: indication, dose, maximum dose in 24 hours, minimum interval between doses, interventions to try before administration, and how effectiveness will be assessed
- Establishes a homely remedies protocol (for medicines like paracetamol kept in the home) that includes: dose limits, duration limits, and prescriber authorisation
- Defines the procedure for covert administration of medicines, requiring: capacity assessment, best interests decision, pharmacist advice on whether medicine can be crushed/disguised, prescriber authorisation, family consultation, written plan, and review date
- Requires that Medication Administration Record (MAR) charts are signed only at the point of administration (when medicine goes in the resident's mouth), not before
- Distinguishes between staff training and competence, requiring direct observation and assessment of each staff member (including agency staff) administering medicines, with documented competency assessments
RPS professional guidance on the safe and secure handling of medicines
- Identifies a named individual at board or senior leadership level who is accountable for medicines risk across the organisation, distinct from operational staff who administer medicines
- Defines the process for professional engagement with the supplying community pharmacy, including sharing of medication error data and reconciliation issues
- Establishes an audit trail system that tracks each individual medicine from receipt at the care home door through storage, administration and disposal, including running balances that distinguish recording errors from actual losses
- Specifies the requirements for witnessed destruction of Schedule 2 controlled drugs, identifying that an authorised witness (not simply a second staff member) is required and documenting who holds this authorisation
- Includes a resident self-administration assessment and support procedure that respects residents' rights under Regulation 9 to manage their own medicines where they have capacity and wish to do so, including risk assessment and secure personal storage arrangements
- Defines the medicines reconciliation process that must occur before first dose administration when residents are admitted or return from hospital, specifying what constitutes a reliable source for verification when discharge information conflicts with supplied medicines
Written for your service
What we ask you, so none of it is assumed.
Most policy packs are one document sold to everyone with a find and replace on the home name. Your Controlled Drugs Policy is written from the legislation above and from your answers to the questions below. Where you have told us something, it says so. Where you have not, it sets out what must happen rather than claiming you already do it.
Your registered name, address, CQC numbers and who holds the key roles. About three minutes. Nothing else is asked before you buy.
Asked once in your own account and used across every policy you own, so a second policy never asks you the same thing twice.
Why it matters. A policy that claims you assess your premises annually, when you never have, is not a harmless overstatement. It is a signed statement handed to your inspector. We would rather write what you must do than guess what you already do.
How it is made
From your details to a policy you can stand behind.
The short questions above: who you are, your CQC registration, and the people this policy names.
One section per required element of the legislation, in your name, with your people.
Automated checks against every required element, then a person reads it before it ships.
When legislation changes, your policy is updated and you are told what changed and why.
Common questions
What you are actually buying.
What exactly do I receive?
A complete Controlled Drugs Policy written for your organisation, in your dashboard and as a print-ready PDF on your own letterhead. It names your service, your registration details and your leads, because you gave us them.
Is this a template?
No. Each policy is written for the organisation buying it, structured from the legislation itself, verified against 35 required regulatory elements, and read by a person before it carries your name.
How quickly will I get it?
Within 2 working days of you completing the short questions above. Most arrive sooner.
What happens when the law changes?
We monitor UK care legislation continuously. When something affecting this policy changes, your copy is updated and you are told what changed and why. The first year of updates is included, then £12 a year per policy.
Can I edit the policy myself?
No, and deliberately so: we stand behind every word we approve. If something needs changing, tell us and we amend and re-verify it, so it always remains a document we can both defend to an inspector.
What if I need more than one policy?
Most services do. The Statutory Starter Pack covers the twenty policies every CQC-registered service is expected to hold, and the Complete Policy Library covers all 66.
Why CareStream
Policies written the way an inspector expects to read them.
Before you buy
What the document actually looks like.
Every section it contains, and a page of the real thing. We show the structure and the personalisation rather than the wording, because the wording is what you are paying us to write for your service.
Contents of your Controlled Drugs Policy
- Purpose and scopewho it covers
- Legal and regulatory frameworkcited in full
- Definitions used in this policy
- Roles and responsibilitiesyour people, named
- Procedure, step by step
- Recording, reporting and escalation
- Training and competency
- Monitoring, audit and review
- Related policies and documents
- Version control and approvalsigned and dated
Section 4 · Roles and responsibilities
Who is accountable, by name
Overall accountability for this policy rests with your registered manager, supported by your nominated individual. Day to day responsibility sits with your named lead, who is the first point of contact for staff at your service address.
The remaining wording is written for the organisation buying it, so it is not shown here.
“The inspector asked for evidence and I had it on screen before she finished the sentence.”
Registered Manager · 48-bed nursing home, West SussexRelated policies
More policies your service may need.
More statutory and operational policies CareStream writes for your service, personalised, human-reviewed and kept updated, exactly like this one.
Medicines Management Policy
Ordering, storage, administration, recording and disposal of medicines, including errors and self-administration.
Mental Capacity and DoLS Policy
Capacity assessment, best-interests decisions and deprivation of liberty safeguards under the MCA 2005.
Infection Prevention and Control Policy
IPC arrangements aligned to the Code of Practice, including audit and cleaning schedules.
Consent to Care and Treatment Policy
Seeking, recording and reviewing consent, including where capacity fluctuates.
Care Planning Policy
Person-centred assessment, planning, review and involvement under Regulations 9 and 12.
End of Life and Palliative Care Policy
Advance care planning, symptom management, dignity in dying and support for families.
Compared
The four ways care services get a policy.
We have compared what each approach does rather than naming competitors, because products change and the comparison should still be true next year.
| CareStream | A policy pack | A consultant | A free template | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Questions asked at the point of purchase, so it is personalised rather than blank | ||||
| Written for your service, naming your manager and your leads | ||||
| Structured from the regulations, every required element checked before it is sent | ||||
| A branded companion document setting out the law it was written against | ||||
| Read and approved by a person before it carries your name | ||||
| Prints on your own letterhead with a sign-off and version block | ||||
| Named role holders update everywhere when the person changes | ||||
| Kept current when the law changes, and you are told what changed | ||||
| Turnaround stated before you buy | ||||
| Your staff can ask it questions in their own language | ||||
| What it costs | £39 to £79 per policy, one-off | £250 to £995 for the pack | A day rate, typically £400 upwards | Nothing |
Prices are the published rates of the common alternatives as at September 2026, for comparison only.
Training
Owning the policy is half of it
An inspector asks whether your staff understood it, not whether you hold it. Ninety eight modules written and kept current by us, to the same regulations, from £25.99 per staff member with no subscription.
